The positive influence of music corresponding with a patient's heartbeat on the patient's mental and physical health is known in music therapy. The improvement of mood, decrease of depression and level of cortisone in blood after a number of treatment sessions with the use of such music was proved by special research conducted by the Department of Music Education and Music Therapy, the University of Miami, USA. (McKinney C H, Antony M H, Kumar M., Tims F C, McCabe P M, Health Psycho 1997 July; 16(4), P.390–400). According to the method used in said research, the music is played not in a real time synchrony with the patient's heartbeat.
The rhythm of a healthy individual's heartbeat is not constant. There are certain fluctuations in heartbeat rate from one pulse to another. Dr. Goldberger at Beth Israel Hospital offers a way of creation the music corresponding with heartbeat of a concrete patient (Eng. Med. Biol. Mag. 1992 June: 11(2), 47–52). In the course of his research, the patient pulse was measured over an entire day by a special monitor with a pocket-size electrocardiogram recorder, the precise intervals between the pulse beats were processed by means of a computer program in accordance with the requirements of statistics to eliminate short-term fluctuations caused by movement or breathing. The daily pulse beat sequence in which the fluctuations had come up was preserved. Thereafter, the time intervals between the heartbeats were converted into integers. Each integer, ranging from 1 to 18, was brought into correspondence with a note of diatonic musical scale. I.e., the changes in heart rate were made proportional to the changes in pitch of the sounds. Thus, a daily heartbeat melody of a patient was generated. Then, Dr. Goldberger chose the rhythm and harmonic accompaniment for each melody. The application of this music produced a positive effect on the state of mind of the patients. Dr. Goldberger explains the medicinal effect of these “heart songs” by the assumption that the variation in pitch of the sounds so produced resonates with the body's own complex variability and scaling.
A case in which physical stimuli corresponding with the patient's heartbeat are used is the invention by Pfizer Robert according to the U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,864. The invention relates to a device for inducing a pre-hypnotic state of profound relaxation in an individual, wherein the individual's mind is receptive to suggestion. The device is characterized in that biofeedback signals from the individual are used to produce a plurality of pulsed physical stimuli having a double frequency in relation to the heartbeat rate of the individual.
The device includes a heartbeat sensor for producing a first pulse signal, the pulse beats of which are in synchrony with the heartbeat of the individual. An interpolation device is connected with the heartbeat sensor to produce a second pulse signal, the pulses of which occur midway in time between successive pairs of heartbeat pulses, respectively. The interpolation device includes a voltage ramp generator responsive to the first pulse signal to produce a linear voltage ramp output the peaks of which are in synchronization with the pulses of the first signal, respectively, the amplitude of the voltage peaks corresponding with the heartbeat rate of the individual. The interpolation device further includes a peak detector for sensing the peaks of the voltage ramp output and a comparator connected with the peak detector for sensing the midpoint of the voltage ramp output between successive peaks to produce the second pulse signal. A physical stimulus device having a pair of inputs connected with the heartbeat sensor and the interpolation device, respectively, produces a pulsed physical stimulus in response to the first and second signals and having a frequency of twice the heartbeat rate of the individual. Application of such a biofeedback pulsed physical stimulus induces a pre-hypnotic state of profound relaxation in the individual.
Although the technology used in this device allows to present the stimuli to the patient in real time with the patient's heartbeat, the effect of double frequency of the stimuli expresses itself in above-mentioned pre-hypnotic state but not in the improvement of concentration, mood, and feeling of well being that we try to create in the patient with our method.
The method of the present invention allows playing music responsive to each pulse beat of the patient in real time. We assume that the effect of our invention is due to the simultaneous perception by the patient's brain of both the physiological effects produced by each real heartbeat and the music of the device which is in exact back response to the same heart beat.